


Stages of Love - The Rodney/Teyla Stories

by ladyjax



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Community: stagesoflove, F/M, Female Character of Color
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-02-07
Updated: 2013-01-12
Packaged: 2017-10-15 05:50:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,011
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/157666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ladyjax/pseuds/ladyjax
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Teyla and Rodney.  At the beginning.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Originally written for the Stages of Love challenge community on LiveJournal. This first set focuses on the Five Stages of Love: Attraction, Romance, Passion, Intimacy, and Commitment.

1.  **Attraction:** Dancing on the Edge

 **Summary:** It all started with a dance

Amongst the matriarchal Suvassan, Teyla's skills as a trader and negotiator were highly prized and her status had risen even higher when she stepped through the gate with three obviously intelligent and skilled males at her back. The fact that she wasn't sleeping with any of them baffled her hosts but it wasn’t enough to derail the Suvassan’s enthusiasm for an alliance with Atlantis. This celebration in their honor was proof of that.

As was custom during the summer months, Suvassan women went bare breasted and wore brightly patterned skirts that flowed while they danced. Teyla's skirt was a rich red with copper accents which highlighted her skin. John, Rodney and Ronon alternately tried very hard not to look anywhere below her neck while at the same time striving to be as natural about her appearance as the Suvassan men were.

Eventually John and Ronon got into the spirit of the evening and were dancing with women from one of the many Suvassan guild houses. Rodney looked on from his spot near one of the pillars. There was a flicker of … something in his face as he watched his teammates dance, something that made Teyla's heart twist just a little.

She moved around the dance floor until she stood at his side.

“Teyla.”

“Dr. McKay.”

Ronon whirled by with a lovely youngster in his arms, her midnight blue skirt flowing about her ankles. "I am surprised that you do not have a partner for this dance.”

Rodney's hand gestured toward the dancers. "Ah, well, I've never been much for dancing. Usually missed out on all the big school dances when I was a kid."

Teyla waited a moment and then said, "Dance with me."

"I just said..."

"I heard you, but I wish to dance," she replied as she took his hand and pulled him out to the dance floor. She stepped in and put her hand on his shoulder. There was a trail of heat as Rodney's hand slowly slipped across her skin to rest in the small of her back pulling her into his body. Their free hands met and their fingers laced together.

Rodney muttered, "I'm going to look like a fool."

Teyla whispered back, "Then we will look like fools together."

For all his bluster, Rodney was a good dancer. Teyla was surprised by this, just as she was surprised by the strength of his body against her own. As they swayed back and forth, their bodies closer than they had ever been, one thought crossed her mind even as a jolt of awareness made her breath quicken.

Teyla wanted to take Rodney to her bed and feel him dance against her, with her, the rules of Atlantis be damned.

When the music ended Teyla went to step away from him but Rodney’s hand at her back stopped her even as his head came down and his lips brushed her ear.

“You look beautiful tonight.”

And then, he let her go.

 

2\. **Romance:** Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained

 **Summary:** A meditation on romance and Rodney McKay. Tea is involved.

Romance is not something that Rodney McKay does well. He knows the motions, knows what most women-Earth women at least - expect: flowers, kind words, perhaps even a bit of poetry recited beneath a full moon.

Given that most of the women he's come into contact with in the last few years have been scientists, he throws in the possibility of differential equations discussed by the light of an LCD screen.

Rodney is not at a complete loss when it comes to women but he lacks Sheppard's easy charm or Ronon's gruff appeal. He's not exactly sure what he has to offer someone like Teyla Emmagan. She's a leader, his teammate and a skilled warrior. She’s out of his league.

What Rodney does have is this: a memory of warm cinnamon skin beneath his fingers. The light press of her body against his own as they danced in the Suvassan Great Hall. Teyla’s stunned surprise when he told her she was beautiful. The blossoming of something terrifyingly wanton in his own heart.

And since this is Atlantis, where anything can happen, morning finds Rodney sitting next to Teyla on the balcony outside his room as the sun rises. A small round bodied porcelain tea pot sits next to a personal coffee press on a low table between them. Teyla is leaning back against her chair, eyes closed, her hands curved around the white tea cup that holds a generous serving of Gunpowder Green. She looks peaceful and it occurs to him that he’s never actually seen her really relax. A secret part of him hopes that he had a part in helping her do so.

**

Impulse made him ask Cadman, of all people, to bring the tea ware back from Earth. All that was left was his bumbling invitation to Teyla to share a morning pot of tea. With him. He’s so sure that she’ll say no with her enigmatic smile firmly in place that he almost doesn’t hear her response.

“I would be honored to share the morning time with you, Rodney.”

He looks down at the brown fingers that rest lightly on his arm and then he looks at her face. She’s not laughing but she is smiling and he figures he’s done something right.

**

Rodney wants to ask her but he doesn’t want to be crass and he’s sure Teyla can hear his thoughts churning. Having tea together doesn’t necessarily mean that she wants anything more or even wants him. But for once, he wants to be the guy who asks, who takes a chance with the one person who may actually get him – or at least pretends to.

He’s screwing up his courage and he’s turning toward her, the words forming on his lips when her eyes open and she turns to look him. Her cup is on the table, she’s taking his hand and she’s saying the words; she’s asking. Rodney says the only thing that comes to mind.

“Yes.”

 

3\. **Passion:** Worshipful

 **Summary:** There's this dress...

The "dress", such as it is, is scandalous in the extreme. A long swath of white cloth, diaphanous and silky, drapes around Teyla's hips before twining around her torso to cover her breasts. The trailing ends tickle her ankles as she walks. Strategically placed jewelled pins secure the whole thing to her body and the effect is stunning if the looks thrown her way by the expedition personnel are any indication.

During the debriefing, Elizabeth takes in the dress, the hair piled on Teyla's head, the elaborate makeup that makes her eyes seem larger and luminous.

"Avatar of the Goddess?" she asks, not without humor. Teyla smiles serenely, goddess-y.

"It seems so, Dr. Weir. The Prilans were quite sure."

A snort from Rodney. "And you see where that got us, nearly roasted at the stake for touching your person." His hand is on Teyla's knee beneath the conference table, his fingers surreptitiously stroking as he speaks.

Even as John patiently reminds Rodney that they got what they went for ("Rodney, repeat after me: we got a ZPM out of it."), Teyla thinks about Rodney's hand. There is heat where he touches her, just as there was the first time they danced together. As Teyla has discovered, Rodney likes to touch her. Not just when they're alone: there are the light touches to shoulder or elbow when they're on a mission. The slow, whispering passage of his palm over her ass while they stand side by side in a transporter.

And where there is heat, there is also hunger. Though she has had more than her share of lovers in the past, Teyla has never known one as hungry for her as Rodney is.

His hand slips back to stroke her inner thigh and Teyla clasps her hands on the table top. She can't touch him back right now and he knows it which is why he's tormenting her like this. Rodney's still speaking, still touching and all she can do is smile, nod her head and try to follow the conversation. Because the other thing she's discovered about Rodney and his touching is how she responds to it.

Teyla is hungry too.

Finally, the debrief is over. Teyla and Rodney head for the nearest transporter. When the doors open, they step out just a few doors away from Rodney’s quarters. His hand slips up under the cloth to rest against her back. She curves her arm around his waist and they walk together, heat and hunger building between them until they are in his room. There is cloth on the floor, his hands on her, in her, hers on him, in him. There is the buildup and then the breaking point that is all cries, screams, and laughter.

Later, as she rests against him, Rodney says, “I told you, you needed to consider keeping that dress.”

Teyla laughs. “You need to worship me more then.”

He rolls her beneath him and smiles. “As my avatar commands.”

 

4\. **Intimacy:** Circles

Summary: John knows.  
A/N: References for S1 ep "Childhood's End"

  
The team is on assignment to M7G-677 when John finds out.

A visit to Keras' village to bring some supplies turns into a little impromptu R&R for the team. Ronon takes off with a group of young fighters while Teyla laughingly fends off several children who seem to be attracted to Rodney like a magnet. He's complaining but the edges of his mouth crook upward with wry humor as he looks at Teyla.

John watches them from where he stands next to Keras. The younger man still sits on the Council, an elder at 26 in truth and not just name, and he is easy in his dealings with the team.

As McKay and Teyla shoo away the last of the children, Keras turns to John and says, "I hadn't realized that the two of them had Paired."

"Paired?" The words take John by surprise. "I'm not sure if I get your meaning."

Keras ducked his head. "My apologies. We don't know the words that would describe a full-grown relationship."

"Relationship?" John's eyes cut to Rodney and Teyla, who are now standing side by side. Rodney's head bends toward Teyla so he can whisper something in her ear. Whatever it is, it makes her laugh and she slaps his arm lightly. As John watches, Rodney's right arm slips around Teyla's waist and pulls her close to him. The way their bodies fit, the ease with which Rodney touches Teyla tells him that this, whatever this is, whatever Keras was able to pick up almost immediately, had been going on for a while and something in John warms at witnessing this private moment.

A touch on his arm breaks John's concentration. He blinks as he looks Keras.

"You didn't know?"

"No," John answers quietly. "I didn't know." And a part of him understands why they didn't come to him.

Keras looks at John and then at the pair who are standing in the middle of the village, their intertwined forms lit by filtered sunlight. They turn, as though they know they are being discussed and look right at John.

Teyla's face is tense and Rodney's is defiant as they face him and John doesn't miss seeing Rodney's arm tighten around the woman by his side. He never thought he'd see his friend so protective of another.

He's walking toward them even as he prepares the speech that should break them apart but when he opens his mouth, the rules and regulations die on his tongue. Instead, John says, "Do you kids have something you want to tell me?"

The tension bleeds away at his words and then Teyla and Rodney let him in.

 

5.  **Commitment:** Stand

 **Summary:** In the end, they have each other.  
A/N: Final stage. The title is inspired by the Sly and the Family Stone song of the same name.

  
When Teyla visits Earth for the first time, she comes as the ambassador of Athos. She's still a member of AR-1 but now she shares leadership duties with Halling. Knowing that she no longer carries the weight of her people on her shoulders alone has put a lightness in Teyla's step that Rodney and the others can't help but notice.

All of that good feeling goes right out the window during one of the last briefings at the SGC.

"It has come to our attention through trusted sources that you and Dr. McKay have been seeing each other in a romantic fashion."

The words are said in obsequious tones, just enough to make every thing a little bit dirty.

"Your point?"

Rodney's voice cuts through the ensuing silence like a knife even as his hand covers hers on the table top. His fingers tighten slightly and she's grounded by his touch.

"You are aware, Dr. McKay," the government toady, appropriately named Koch, continues, "of the SGC's fraternization rules."

"I'm a civilian."

"True, you are a civilian," Koch's voice rises to drown out Rodney's obejction. "A civilian who can be replaced."

The words hang in the air as a roaring sound fills Teyla's ears blocking out everything around her. It's only when Rodney suddenly lets her hand go so that he can poke the other man in the chest that everything snaps into focus and one word flows to the surface.

"Enough."

Rodney cuts off his harangue to look at her and immediately sits back down. Teyla takes his hand again before turning her attention to Koch.

"It is true that Dr. McKay is a civilian," she says slowly as if speaking to a child. "I am a civilian also."

"Yes, well..."

Koch is cut off by Teyla's palm slapping on the table. "I am also the leader of your closest allies in the Pegasus Galaxy."

Her eyes slip around the room: John and Elizabeth are both smiling, with the good doctor's expression being more than a little predatory. Carson is nodding his head in agreement.

"I love Dr. McKay and I believe the feeling is quite mutual. " Teyla's voice is as soothing as velvet over a steel fist. "What we have does not interfere with the work we do."

Even as Koch sputters out a reply, Teyla is on her feet with Rodney by her side. "Leave us be," she says and then they are out of the room and in the hall. Rodney's arms come up to pull her into him, and she's shaking.

"I said too much."

Rodney kisses the top of her head. "No, no, you did just fine," he says with a chuckle. "You love me?"

Teyla nods, her head resting on his chest. "Mmm, yes."

There's a pause and then she hears: "Love you too."


	2. The Middle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> More Rodney/Teyla based on Exploration of a Relationship Through the Five Senses: Sight, Hearing, Touch, Smell, and Taste

1\. **Sight:** Blind

 _Trust me._

The words are so simple and she immediately begins to reassure him that she does. Rodney puts his finger on her lips, stilling her words, his blue eyes serious. He holds up the blindfold letting her see it and touch it before he ties it around her head, committing her to temporary darkness

The cloth around her eyes is soft and smells faintly of a musky scent that she's come to associate with Rodney. Teyla can't see him but she can hear him as he moves about the room. From her place on the bed, she struggles not to get up, strip off the blindfold and take control of the moment but she doesn't.

Something about the way he asks her to trust him makes her think there is more to this than simple love play. So she forces herself to be patient, waiting on Rodney to finish what he is doing and come to her.

When he slides behind her and folds her into his arms, Teyla is startled. She had no idea he could move so quiet. "Rodney?"

"Shhh, it's alright," his voice is a low, rough whisper against her ear. "Trust me."

Blind as she is, her other senses struggle to compensate. When Rodney begins to touch her, she realizes that he's positioned her in such a way that she can't really touch him back. He's plastered against her back, one arm gently wrapped around her shoulder, the other wrapped loosely about her waist and his hand is stroking lower. His fingers tangle in her soft downiness before sliding ever lower to touch her clit, first lightly then with more intent.

Teyla's hips buck forward and the heat coils in her belly. Rodney tightens his grip on her as his fingers slide deeper into her wetness and then back up to circle her clit again.

A deep sigh comes from him and he says her name like a prayer even as his fingers press deep within her. As she spirals upward, the tension in her body ratcheting higher and higher, she finally understands what it is Rodney is trying to say.

Rodney's teeth in her shoulder pushes her over the edge, riding his fingers as her orgasm takes her to that other place where she breaks apart like crystal only to be caught and held safe by the man who is with her now.

The tremors still wrack her body when he takes the blindfold off and pulls her down beside him. Rodney's damp fingers smooth the hair out of her eyes and she grabs his hand to kiss it. Tangling their fingers together, she feels his strength and knows she can rest within it, let go within it.

Rodney will be there to catch her.

2\. **Hearing:** Sleeptalking

Sometimes, Teyla talks in her sleep. She murmurs words in Athosian, English, and a smattering of Ancient jumbled together in a tumble that only abates when she slips deeper into slumber land.

It's a habit that makes for interesting late night conversations. The first time he heard her curse - something along the lines of "goddamned motherfucker" - he sat bolt upright in bed and shook her awake.

 _  
She blinked groggily at him. "Rodney, is something amiss?"_

 _"You, uh, you were talking in your sleep."_

 _Teyla stifled a yawn. "Was I? That is strange." Another yawn overtook her and she stretched her arms above her head before bringing them back down. "I apologize if it disturbed you."_

 _Rodney couldn't help but smile at the habitually polite phrasing. Even when she was half asleep, Teyla always seemed to know the right thing to say. "S'okay. But I think you need to spend a little less time with the marines."_

 _Teyla had already slid back beneath the covers and snuggled against him, her sleepy "alright Rodney' drifting into a soft snores._

Then there are the times when the drowsy patter takes a different turn. When she's troubled, her words are short and clear and her body is tense under the bed clothes. This worried him. Words are Teyla's first weapon; she wields them like she wields her sticks, with blinding precision. Anger will make her words sharp like a scalpel and his ears burn as he imagines just what made her so angry.

Rodney doesn't wake her when this happens.

Instead he pulls her in against his body until she's practically draped over him. Rodney's words are a whispered flow from his mouth to her ear as his fingers brush the sweaty hair from Teyla's forehead. Words like "sleep" and "love you" ease her away from the anger and into safer waters bounded by the beat of his heart. Only when she relaxes does Rodney sleep himself, words draped like a blanket over them both.

3\. **Touch:** Off Limits

Stackhouse looked at the scene unfolding near the door to the mess hall. "Oh man, that does not look good."

His companions, long-time expedition members all, looked up from their food just in time to see one of the new personnel, PFC Murphy, reach out and grab Teyla's shoulder to get her attention. The four men collectively groaned as Teyla looked at the hand and then at the man attached to the hand with all the disdain one would give upon finding something nasty on your shoe. She shook him off and continued on her way to the lunch line.

Her thwarted "suitor" made to follow but stopped and immediately left the room. Stackhouse turned and glanced over at what was unofficially AR-1's table. Sheppard and Ronon looked more than a little bloodthirsty. The look on McKay's face, however, could only be described as calculating.

The sergeant suppressed a shudder and turned back to his own tablemates.

"Two Hershey bars on Sheppard having a little talk with our newbie," Reynolds said in a low conspiratorial tone.

"I've got a bag of popcorn on Dex taking him out sometime in the next hour," Burke offered. Thompson threw in his bet ("Sheppard and Dex, tonight, down on the East Pier") with a promise of some horded homemade cookies from his mother. "What about you, Stack?"

Stackhouse leaned back in his chair and said, "Bottle of rum says McKay is gonna take care of it." His observation was greeted with snorts of derision and he shrugged. “I wouldn’t count him out if I were you, boys.”

The next morning, Stackhouse made his way down to the control room where Rodney was working with one of the other gate technicians. He cleared his throat to get the good doctor's attention.

McKay looked up in annoyance. "Yes, sergeant, what is it?"

"Hey doc, there seems to be a little problem with the showers this morning."

"Really."

Stackhouse had to bite the inside of his cheek to keep from laughing at McKay's dry tone. "Yeah, seems Murphy got a little singed when he was washing up. Think you could check on it?"

McKay sighed heavily. "What am I, maintenance?" He made some shooing motions with his hand. "Fine, we'll take care of it from here. Now go, I'm busy."

"Thanks doc."

Just as Stackhouse turned to go, McKay said, "Sergeant?"

"Yeah?"

"You might want to remind Murphy not to touch things that don't belong to him." McKay didn't even look up from the computer he was working on. "I'm sure you understand what I mean."

Stackhouse nodded and grinned. "I'll pass that along, Doctor McKay."

"See that you do."

 

4\. **Smell:** Swamped

Another planet and they're in yet another firefight with the Wraith. As John so aptly put it: "We're not real popular with them these days."

Rodney couldn't agree more as he popped up from behind some cover and fired off some shots with his sidearm. 'I hate this,' he thought. Hated to shoot, hated being shot at by anyone. That's not what he signed on for when he came to the Pegasus Galaxy but it's what he got.

Being trapped amidst some ruins that looked to be Ancient in origin along with Major Lorne's team was not Rodney's idea of a good time. The planet they were on, PX7-53G, was humid; the air rich with the scent of green, swampy growing things. Rodney had started sweating the minute they stepped out of the jumper which was why he could imagine just how gamey he smelled after traipsing around the ruins for the better part of two hours before spending another hour being pinned down by an unexpected Wraith patrol.

His radio crackled with static. "...McKay!"

Rodney immediately recognized Sheppard's voice. "It's about time, Colonel. What took you so long?"

"Well, you and Lorne's team are a little deep in that swamp, you know," John quipped. "Plus we had to stop for gas."

Rodney rolled his eyes. "Ha. Ha. Nice to know some of us have a sense of humor at a time like this." He ducked as a stray blast kicked up debris near him. "Any time you feel like getting us out of here just let me know."

"'m on it, Sheppard out."

Not too long afterwards, Rodney walked out of the swamp towards Sheppard's waiting jumper. Behind him, two other teams were flushing out the remaining Wraith while corpsmen took care of the wounded.  
He saw Teyla standing halfway to the jumper waiting. When he pulled even with her, her dark brown eyes took in the dirty clothes and his mud spattered face before she went to hug him. Rodney shook his head at her as he took half a step back. "I stink," he said. "I need a shower."

"You're alive," she replied. Then she stepped in and pulled him close.

5\. **Taste:** Spoiled

"What is this fruit called again, Rodney?"

Rodney watched as Teyla sucked at the orange fleshy fruit with an expression akin to ecstasy. "Mango."

Teyla swallowed her piece and wiped a stray bit of juice from her lip before she smiled at him. "It is very, very good." She popped another piece into her mouth. "You had these brought all the way from Earth."

"Yes."

"For me."

Rodney rolled his eyes then grinned at her. "Yes, for you."

She looked at him coyly before holding up a piece to his mouth which he took. "The taste is quite decadent."

"Really?" Rodney dipped his finger into the collected juice at the bottom of the fruit bowl then reached forward to run it over the soft skin between Teyla's neck and shoulder. His tongue followed the sticky sweet path up to her ear where he bit her lobe lightly. "Am I spoiling you?" he whispered.

"Perhaps," Teyla replied, her voice high and breathy as Rodney pulled her closer.

There were those on Atlantis who only saw one side of Rodney McKay; the caustic, sarcastic one. Those closer to him knew different and she was sure she knew a little more than most.

He didn't change when they got together. Rodney was still caustic and sarcastic and he occasionally made lab techs cry. He complained more often than not and he was generally arrogant and overbearing.

But.

Rodney was brave in a way that others were not, taking leaps of logic (and dare she say faith) when others would not. He was strong, deceptively so, and when he took her to his bed he showed her just how strong he was. A mass of contradiction, Rodney was a sweet, messy treat just like the fruit he'd had sent from his home world.

Teyla looked forward to savoring him for a long time to come.


	3. The End

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rodney and Teyla. Moving into the future together. Written for the theme: Five Ways to say "I Love You" Originally posted in 2008

**1\. Saved**

They'd come so far together and yet the air of frustrated betrayal hung between them for months. Even though Rodney knew the truth of it; that Michael had used his will, coercion, and a boatload of psychotropic drugs to do what he needed to do, he still couldn't shake the black pit of hurt that lodged in his heart every time he looked at Teyla's growing belly.

Eight long months saw Teyla struggle to hold everything together. If she could have aborted the babe, if it meant it would heal the growing rift between her and Rodney, she would have. But the child was a tenacious presence in her mind and in her heart. Last of the people her mind whispered. Last of Athos though not born of the soil. Teyla could not ignore that. And so the rift grew.

Everything changed when Michael snatched Teyla to claim his prize.

The hurt transformed to fury as Rodney pushed himself, pushed Atlantis to find Teyla. The fury, wrapped in cold, hard logic, turned to calculation when a viable lead was finally found. Ronon nodded and sharpened the knife that Rodney thrust into Michael's heart at the end. John helped him carry Teyla back to the jumper just as the first contractions hit.

The baby, the last of Athos and the first of Atlantis, slid into Rodney's hands in the depths of space. "Rodney," Teyla said, her eyes weary beyond measure but still lit with a small hope that there was something left. 

Rodney looked at her and then at the baby who looked at him and reached with fat, questing fingers. "We're going to be okay," he said hoarsely, gathering her to him, the child - their child - resting between them.

**2\. Clear-eyed**

Rodney slapped his hand down on his desk and breathed out sharply. "That's not it," he said through gritted teeth.

Zelenka looked over from where he was going over some projections with one of the newer personnel, Dr. Sherry Appleby. "Problems, Rodney?"

The innocent inquiry earned Radek a hard stare which he shrugged off easily. "This...this..." Rodney pointed to his computer screen. "It's not coming out right. Dammit!"

"Perhaps you should take a break, or maybe I could look at it. You've been at this for hours." 

Rodney stared at the screen and ran a hand over his head. "I just...I know I'm close," he groused and folded his arms across his chest. "I'm just not seeing it."

"Is he always like this?" Dr. Appleby whispered. 

Radek shrugged. "Not always but he has been working on those equations for the past couple of days. Not being able to solve them, eh, makes him crazy."

He turned to suggest to Rodney again that he take a look at his figures when Teyla walked into lab, baby Tegan securely tucked against her chest in a sling. "Rodney."

Rodney turned and his face creased in a slight smile. "Hey."

"You were late," Teyla said. "John and Ronon have already picked out the movie and the popcorn awaits you."

"I'm coming, just as soon as I can get this stuff to work," Rodney replied with an exasperated wave at the offending screen. 

Teyla stepped around and peered at his equations, one hand ghosting over Tegan's head in a light caress. Tapping the scroll key on the keyboard, she took another look. "There."

"What?" Rodney looked at her. She favored him with a raised eyebrow. "Show me."

Teyla pointed at the screen and Rodney peered at it. Then he pulled the keyboard over and tapped in another figure. "Yes," he said softly. "Yes that's it."

He turned back to Teyla. "Fresh eyes and all that."

"Mmm, yes." She smiled and took his hand. "I think Dr. Zelenka can finish the rest."

"But..."

"When I left, John and Ronon were about to start watching something I am sure you would not like."

As they walked away, Rodney's arm slid around Teyla's waist and his voice carried back to his colleagues. "Oh, what is it this time?"

"I believe John said it was Amazon Women on the Moon."

 

**3\. Still**

Late one night Rodney lay awake listening to the quiet of the city. Teyla slept beside him, one arm wrapped around his waist like a warm security blanket and Tegan (whom Rodney called Einstein Jr. when no one was around) slept in his crib.

Had anyone told him four years before that he'd be where he was, he would have either laughed or cursed them soundly then mocked their next published paper. Alien princesses who could, and would, kick ass on spec and still command every gaze in a room were the stuff of H. Rider Haggard or Burroughs's novels. In those stories, men like him were never the heroes.

They didn't get the girl.

Except Teyla chose him. Against all odds and possibility, he chose her as well. Together they said yes every day and every hour. 

Rodney shifted to his side, moving Teyla just enough so she lay in the crook of his arm. She snuggled in closer, safe where she was. Trusting that he would be there when she woke in the morning. He ran the back his fingers across her cheek, his thumb softly across her lips before kissing her.

And he knew without the shadow of a doubt that at least in this universe, he didn't have to be the hero. He just needed to be right where he was and that was enough.

 

**4\. At The Brink**

Alarm klaxons shrieked in Rodney's ears as he and Ronon pounded through the halls, dodging soldiers and scientists.

Two life signs on the south pier, John's terse voice came through their headsets. I don't have anyone close enough to get there.

"We're on it," Ronon said, casting a look at Rodney who only firmed his lips in a hard line.

"Let's go."

The attack had come without warning: three of Michael's hive ships dropped in below sensor range and made a direct run on the city. It couldn't have come at a worse time. Ladon and several Genii council members, the Athosians and several other representatives of Atlantis' allies were in attendance for a meeting to discuss further strengthening of various alliances and trade agreements. 

Now those bonds were put to the test as everyone turned a hand to a defense of the city. Rodney had been in the chair room with John when he heard Teyla's voice in his headset.

"Rodney! Michael is here. Protect Tegan..."

Her voice cut off abruptly. 

Rodney was running for the transporter within moments, Ronon at his heels. 

The south pier was the least used and therefore the favorite place for the team to get away. It made sense that Teyla would lead Michael there, as far away from the central city as possible. 

That's where Rodney and Ronon found them, silhouetted against the angry grey sky. 

Ronon's weapon cleared the holster, it's familiar whine almost a comfort.

"I would caution you not to fire too quickly, Ronon Dex," Michael rumbled. "You might cause me to shoot your teammate." The bite in his voice made the word sound like a curse in Rodney's ear. His red haze of rage gave way to acrystal clarity: Michael's gun; Teyla's bruised but determined face.

Rodney would never remember the moment he drew his own sidearm. One moment Michael was taunting them, the next he was writhing on the ground and Teyla was running to him. He caught her up in a tight embrace, his heart skipping a beat before settling down.

"Are you...?" Rodney began, "Did he...?" Teyla put her fingers on his lips and shook her head.

"A few bruises, nothing more."

"Touching."

They turned as Michael levered himself up, his lips flecked with blood. "You would sully yourself with one such as him, Teyla. Had I thought you willing, I would have offered you the universe."

Rodney stepped over to Michael and cocked his gun. "Wouldn't you know it, she went for the guy who blew up a galaxy."

The gun's rapport was carried away on the wind.

 

**5\. Ending at the Beginning**

Teyla stood on the balcony of the Suvassan senate house and looked out over the city. A light dusting of snow covered the roofs, proof that winter had a firm hold. 

"Teyla." 

She turned and smiled, dipping her head respectfully. "Ket Elan. Thank you for welcoming us."

The head of Suvassa's trade guild smiled softly, the fine lines in her face lending a certain grace. "Thank you for returning. We have come to value the alliance with your people and our hearths are always open to you."

Once Teyla would have corrected the Ket, uncomfortable at being lumped in with the Atlanteans at the expense of her own people. Time and experience showed her that that didn't have to be the case.

"And your husbands...ah, forgive," the Ket said with a wicked twinkle in her eye. "Your husband, Dr. McKay, I have not seen him yet today."

"He has child minding duties," Teyla replied with a soft laugh. 

"Ah," said the Ket knowingly. "I take it this is not exactly what he likes to do."

As if on cue, Rodney stepped out on to the balcony, Tegan by his side. Their daughter, Alya, rested comfortably in a sling across his chest. Something in the way he walked, straight and unselfconscious, tugged at her heart and she remembered that first dance so many years ago. She smiled and he smiled back.

"He has found his strength in it," Teyla replied and walked over to her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Saved is partially based on Teyla's pregnancy storyline in SGA Season 4. I gave it a bit of an AU twist.


End file.
